AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know,” Josie said. “But right now, our survival depends on not raising any alarm. Please, Alice. I need your help. Are you with me on this?”
Reluctantly, Alice nodded.
FIFTEEN
Noah clutched the steering wheel and turned it, trying to spin his SUV back in the direction he’d come and out of the path of the oncoming lights. The vehicle slid from side to side and then jerked to a stop, tires stuck in the unplowed snow. He pumped the gas, trying to free them but all he accomplished was to send the SUV into a backwards slide. The rear bumper kissed the metal guardrail with a gentle thud. With relief, he saw that he was no longer in the path of the approaching car. He tried the gas again, but he wasn’t going anywhere. He got out of the car. There was a bucket of salt and a shovel in the back. Maybe he could get himself out of this predicament.
As Noah reached the guardrail, the air in his lungs froze. The other side was practically a sheer drop-off into a valley. There was nothing but trees and what looked like a lake. He was lucky he hadn’t hit the guardrail more forcefully.
He turned back to the road when he heard the rumble of an engine. The lights he’d almost crashed into resolved into a large silver pickup truck. Chains were wrapped around all its tires. Along the side of it were emblazoned the wordsSullivan County Sheriff. It came to a stop along the road as it reached Noah’s SUV.
A man in a thick blue coat hopped out. Noah estimated him to be in his fifties, tall and solid. He smiled as he approached. “Looks like you’re in need of some help.”
Noah nodded. “I was actually headed to your office.” He introduced himself and fished his credentials out of his coat, even though he wasn’t there on official business.
The man extended a gloved hand. “Deputy Ehrbar. Patrick Ehrbar. What are you doing all the way up here, Lieutenant?”
“There’s a camp up here somewhere. My wife is at a retreat there. Her and a few other people. I haven’t heard from her and I’m afraid she’s stuck—that they’re all stuck.”
Ehrbar frowned. He scratched beneath his blue knit hat. “You have any information on the property? That sounds like a lot of places up here.”
Noah told him what little information he had.
Ehrbar nodded. “Okay, yeah. I think I know the place. It’s out by World’s End.”
“I’m sorry,” Noah said. “What did you say?”
Ehrbar laughed. “World’s End State Park. I’m pretty sure my boss, Sheriff Hunter Shaw, owns that camp. Rents it out all year round but usually to hunters. Has a caretaker who manages it. Let’s get you out of here and we’ll see what we can find out.”
“Thank you,” said Noah. “I really appreciate it. I’m worried about my wife.”
Ehrbar’s frown returned. He looked overhead. Snow continued to fall fast and heavy. “You should be,” he said. “It’s not going to be easy getting to them.”
SIXTEEN
The mood at the main house was somber. The initial upset after Meg’s death had turned to dull shock. They sat around the dining table while Sandrine dished out food that no one touched. It was already well into the afternoon. None of them had eaten breakfast. Although the last thing Josie wanted to do was eat, she knew that she needed food to keep up her energy for whatever was to come. She chose a sandwich from one of the two plates that Sandrine had put in the center of the table and forced herself to take a bite. Other than the tomato, lettuce and alfalfa sprouts, she recognized nothing Sandrine had crushed between the two pieces of gluten-free whole-grain bread. It wasn’t bad. Soon, she was devouring the entire thing. Next to her, Alice watched and then hesitantly chose her own sandwich from the other plate. It looked like peanut butter and jam.
Nicola said, “How can you two eat at a time like this?”
“You just saw a dead body,” Brian added. “You touched a dead body.”
Alice shrugged. Around a mouthful of food, she said, “Josie’s a police officer. I work in the emergency department of a very busy trauma center. We’ve both seen a lot worse than that.”
Taryn picked a sandwich from one of the platters. “Josie and Alice have the right idea. We should all eat. We don’t want whatever fresh food we’ve got to go to waste.”
Nicola and Brian took the last two sandwiches from the plates. A few seconds later, Josie heard Brian speaking to Nicola under his breath. “Switch with me.”
“What? Why?” She picked up her own sandwich and prepared to take a bite, but he quickly reached over and touched her arm to stop her. “What is your problem?” she demanded.
“I’m allergic to peanuts,” he said through gritted teeth. “Remember?”
“Oh shit.” Nicola quickly switched with him. Glancing around the table, she realized that everyone was watching them. “Sorry,” she said. “My brain hasn’t been right since we lost our little girl. I forget important things.”
“I think we’re all in a bit of a fog right now,” Sandrine said. “After the morning we’ve had. I’m so sorry, Brian. I put the peanut butter sandwiches on a separate plate but forgot to mention it. I’m just so…stunned by what’s happened. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t bring it, by the way. As we discussed before the retreat, everything I brought was peanut-free. I found the peanut butter in one of the cabinets. Probably from the last group that was here. We’re running low on supplies so I didn’t think the others would mind. I’m terribly sorry. Forgive me.”
“It’s fine,” he mumbled.
No one spoke again. Josie surreptitiously glanced at each one of them. Even though she’d told Alice not to theorize as to who might have strangled Meg, she couldn’t stop her own mind from going there. Meg had been wearing all her winter gear when she either left her cabin or was lured from it. Her cabin gave nothing away. Sandrine was right—all of her things were still there and there was no evidence of a struggle, which likely meant that Meg had left the cabin of her own free will and had intended to return to it. Why would she have gone out for a walk in the snow? Even on the sunny days before the storm came, walking was unpleasant in the cold. The scenario that made the most sense given what little Josie knew was that Meg had either been going to meet someone or had been following someone.
